Work Text:
The last guest walked out the door and Alfred closed and locked it behind them. Everyone else, including the rest of the staff were gone. It was just Thomas, Martha, and himself left in the house. He went back to the parlor where he knew they were waiting for him. It was a ritual of theirs. After every event the pair of them would wait there until he assured them everyone was gone. At which point there would be a quiet moment where they looked at him with something he had yet to figure out in their eyes before he would retire for the night.
That night was different though. When he got to the parlor, he was not greeted with the usual silence or low talking, but with music. Something calm but romantic. The kind of music that many couples danced to.
He stopped in the doorway and watched for a long moment. Thomas and Martha were wrapped in each other's arms as they swayed to the music. It was a private moment that he felt he had no right to witness. But he couldn't bare to stop watching.
When the song came to a close, they stopped dancing and turned to look at him. There were matching looks in their eyes, pleading. Unable to resist any longer Alfred entered the room and walked to their side. As soon as he was within reach Martha's hands were on his, pulling him closer. All while Thomas moved to the record player and started another song. Before coming back and leaning into the embrace Alfred was wound into.
The three of them quietly danced in the late night hours, all knowing that their feelings would never leave the liminal space where they could be themselves, not what society said they were.